Close Enough
by beccatopaz
Summary: Nothing in life is perfect. Addison Roberts knows this to be a fact. Working hard to maintain the stability in her life becomes a vain effort when her friend, Sam Wilson, becomes close with Captain America. Being thrust into the world of super soldiers and assassins is nothing close to what Addison wanted. But, people don't always get what they ask for. (Bucky/OC)
1. Chapter One

**A/N: Oh my goodness. So, this is my first FanFiction ever and I would really appreciate it if you gave me any feedback. I am still figuring out how this website works. (:**

 **I recently got into Marvel's Cinematic Universe and I completely fell in love with Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier. If I ever mess up on any details, please feel welcome to send me a PM or leave a review.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). However, I do own my original character (OC) Addison Roberts and her story line.**

 **This first chapter doesn't have much action, but it gets the ball rolling. You have to start somewhere, right?**

 **I sincerely hope you enjoy and stick around.**

* * *

Simple.

Normal.

Peaceful.

That's how Addison Roberts saw the life that she had built for herself after college. Granted, after graduating from George Washington University, the first two years were hectic and consisted of bouncing between assistant jobs at local healthcare clinics. There were times when she had to stretch her monthly pay check just to make ends meet. In those two years, Addison had gotten six hours of sleep a night — if she was lucky. The stress from her job, her personal life, and figuring out how to keep herself afloat were cause for unbelievably high stress levels. Of course, that is the reality for any recent college graduate.

The whirl wind stopped two years after she graduated with her degree in business administration. Her mother had decided to retire early and leave her flower shop to her only daughter. Becoming a small business owner and a florist brought stability back to Addison. She couldn't remember what the feeling entailed and though it took time to adjust, it was a welcome change. Addison thrived in her new environment. She was busy enough with her business that she didn't have the time to think about all that had happened to her before she got to this point in her life. The haunting events of what happened years ago always lurked in the back of her mind but she didn't let it take control of her — whether it be a conscious or subconscious decision.

It started as any other day. Her alarm clock rang at six and she was out of the shower by six-thirty. After getting dressed, she walked out of her bedroom and into the kitchen that was connected to the living room. The apartment was small and only had one bedroom and bathroom, but it was all that Addison needed. Grabbing the first thing that she came across, the twenty-five year old grabbed her purse hanging off of the coat rack, her phone on the charging cord from the table near the front door, and headed out the door to face the seven story descent to the lobby of her apartment building.

"Is it really _that_ hard to hire someone to fix the elevator?" Addison grumbled to herself as she reached the bottom of the seven flights. Every morning Addison asked this question and every morning she would have to catch her breath for a moment. It wasn't that she was out of shape — it's just that she never exercised regularly. Every New Year's Eve she would promise herself to start exercising daily but then after a week of keeping her commitment, the brunette would stop and just tell herself that next year would be different. And it wasn't like she needed to exercise everyday. The woman ate right and only allowed herself junk food once a week. Addison saw this as a fair trade off for not exercising as much as she could.

Climbing into her year-old Kia Rio, Addison threw her purse into the backseat and scarfed down her plain bagel and turned the car on after finishing her sad excuse for a breakfast. She pulled out of the parking garage and pressed the speed dial on her phone, patiently waiting for the person she was calling to pick up the line.

 _"I just got in from my run. I had a late start today,"_ the voice of Sam Wilson spoke through the speaker.

Sam Wilson never answered the phone with a simple "hello" when she called. But, he didn't need to. Addison and Sam had known each other for seven years and were fast friends from the moment they had met. Her older brother, William, had introduced them before he was deployed overseas. William, Sam, and their friend Riley all served in the same pararescue unit. Addison had branded them as a military version of the three stooges. But, that all changed after Riley was killed in action. Sam had returned home after their friend's death and started to work with soldiers who had PTSD at the local Veterans Affairs office. Her brother, however, stayed in the field of pararescue and ended up giving his life for his country when a mission went haywire.

Addison had been starting her sophomore year of college when she got the news that her brother had passed. Her grades quickly spiraled out of control and she became consumed with her grief. Sam was there for her and helped her get her life back on track slowly, but surely. Addison was forever grateful for her friend.

"Let me guess, you had a _riveting_ conversation about patriotism and duty with Captain America again?" she teased.

About a month ago, Sam had come home from his morning jog one day and called Addison raving to her about how he ran around the National Mall with Captain America. To say Sam had a little moment of being starstruck after meeting the world's _best_ soldier would be an understatement. However, Addison didn't believe her friend and teased him about it mercilessly.

 _"Something along those lines,"_ Sam replied. _"I'll be ready in half an hour."_

"I'll be there in twenty. I can start the coffee for you so you won't be too late," said Addison before she ended the call and turned on to the road that would lead her straight to her friend's neighborhood.

When she arrived at Sam's house, Addison unlocked his front door with the key that she had and made a bee-line for the kitchen. Without thinking, she acted out of habit, turning on the Keurig machine and grabbing two travel mugs from Sam's cabinets that he kept on his bottom shelf. Being five-foot-two wasn't something that was an advantage to Addison. She absolutely hated it when people would tease her about her height. To her, being short wasn't "adorable" as others would say; it was just a hinderance. The former pararescuer had learned a long time ago not to mock her about her height and tried to make things easier for her to access wherever he could.

As she pressed the button to brew the first cup of coffee, Addison unlocked her phone and looked at her schedule for today. All she had going on was getting a new shipment of vases for her shop which didn't come until after her lunch break. Locking her phone and placing it on Sam's kitchen counter, Addison took a brown curl in between her index and middle finger before looking at the split ends. A frown grew on her face at the sight of damaged ends. She just got a hair cut two weeks ago.

Before she could examine her hair further, Addison heard the shower shut off and a stumble come from Sam's bathroom. She rolled her eyes and turned back to the coffee machine, filling up the second travel mug before heading to her friend's fridge to grab the creamer. While Addison was doctoring up the caffeinated beverages, Sam emerged from his bedroom and gave the short, olive skin toned woman a squeeze on the shoulder.

"You know, for a former pararescuer, you should have better coordination," she gently teased, referencing the ex-soldier's fumble in the bathroom.

"Hey, now," Sam began. But he couldn't finish his statement. Addison shoved his coffee into his hand, grabbed her mug and phone, and started to push her friend towards the front door.

"Let's get a move on, Wilson," she said. "We're going to be late. And by 'we', I mean you. I'm my own boss. I can't be late."

"Keep rubbing it in, why don't you," he responded as he climbed into her tiny car. Addison let out a chuckle as she locked Sam's front door and scurried to her car.

* * *

While unpacking the shipment of vases, Addison heard the bell above the shop's door ring and she turned to welcome whoever had stopped by. A blonde, average height woman was standing in the doorway. She was wearing a pink pair of scrubs and had a far off look in her eyes as she looked at the flower display by the front of the shop.

"Hello," Addison chirped with a smile on her face.

"Hi," the woman greeted back.

"Is there anything that I can help you with today?" the store owner asked as she moved away from the vases to give the customer her full attention.

"I'm looking for flowers to send that mean 'I'm thinking of you' but not in the heavy way," said the woman as she scanned all the flowers in front of her with her eyes. Looking up at the short woman in front of her, the woman gave a small laugh. "Does that make sense?"

"That makes perfect sense," Addison reassured her. Gesturing over towards the right side of the shop, she and the woman in scrubs walked over to a stand that had replicas of flowers that held the sentiment of wishing someone better and warm thoughts. "This first bouquet has white roses and Oriental lilies. The lavender carnations help to offset the white so it's not too bright. It comes with a purple vase to help tie it all together. The arrangement is generally bought for people recovering from an illness."

The woman gave a nod of her head. Addison continued on to the next bouquet, seeing as her customer wasn't completely sold. "This next arrangement sends a hopeful sentiment. It is very bright, seeing as all the flowers are yellow. You have flowers ranging from Peruvian lilies to roses to chrysanthemums. The little accents of green you see are green hypericum berries to help draw attention to the individual flowers and not the general color of yellow."

"It is really pretty, but I think it's a bit too bright for what I'm looking for," the woman told Addison, who nodded her head.

"I think I know one that may work for you," the brunette said. She gently ushered her customer over to the opposite side of the display table and pointed to the flowers that were on display in the middle. Addison looked over at the woman on her left and saw a gentle smile on her face and she instantly knew that this was the one. "This is one of my favorite arrangements. The yellow carnations bring out hope while the purple Peruvian lilies and statice flowers give off a comforting feeling. The green fern leaves accent the flowers and give the arrangement a down to earth feeling." Casting a glance at her customer she could see that she was still smiling. "And if you look, there is no vase that shows off the stems. The white washed wooden basket gives the bouquet a more genuine appearance."

"This is perfect," the woman remarked. "I'll take it."

"Great! Now, there are three sizes for this arrangement. The small size is only thirty, the medium is forty, and the large is fifty. All of the sizes give the same visual, the only thing that varies is the amount of flowers that can fit into the different size bases," Addison said as she guided the woman towards the front desk to fill out an order form.

"Bases?"

"Bases are these blocks of styrofoam that we put in the bottom of the bouquets that aren't made of glass. It keeps them in place and helps keep the stems from getting damaged," she explained.

Her customer nodded her head. "I think I'll take the medium size."

Addison nodded her head in understanding. As she started to type the order into the computer, the florist spoke up. "If you don't mind me asking, who are the flowers for?"

"My aunt," the woman exhaled. "She has dementia."

Knowing better than to offer her sorrows, Addison just gave her a warm smile. "Well, I'm sure she'll be touched by the flowers."

The woman gave her a genuine smile as a thank you. Turning back to the computer, Addison entered the rest of the order's details into the computer before turning back to her customer to get the billing information and delivery location.

"What name would you like to put down for the order?"

"My name is fine. Sharon Carter," the woman responded.

"And where would you like it to be dropped off? We could deliver it to your aunt, your apartment, or you could come here to pick up the arrangement," Addison offered. "Just a forewarning, there is a delivery charge."

Sharon gave the woman behind the counter a kind smile and decided to pick it up from the store. After receiving payment for the order, Addison handed her customer a copy of the receipt and bid her farewell.

"The flowers should be here in the next two days. When they come into the shop, whoever is here will give you a call for you to come and pick them up," Addison told her.

"Alright. Thank you so much…" Sharon trailed off, hoping that the woman would give her a name.

"Addison."

"Thanks, Addison," Sharon said before giving a wave and exiting the shop.

Returning to unpacking the shipment of vases delivered to her shop, Addison remained busy putting them away before closing. After watering the flowers and checking to make sure that the back door was locked one more time, the florist left her shop.

She was driving down the street before her apartment building when she saw flashing lights that belonged to three police cars and one ambulance. Slowing her vehicle as she passed the scene, she saw the team of medics pulling a gurney between them with someone strapped to it. Addison felt unease creeping up in her throat, threatening to choke her. Seeing the still body on the gurney was bringing back memories of that ill fated night three years ago. If she would have allowed herself to think of what happened, Addison knew that she would fall back into a hole of wallowing. Instead, she swallowed and pushed her memories to the back of her brain where they usually remained.

As she was passing the scene, Addison saw a familiar figure standing in the threshold of the building. Standing in her pink scrubs, Sharon Carter was staring at the back of the ambulance with a blank expression on her face. Once the building and flashing lights disappeared from her sight, Addison let out a breath that she didn't know she was feeling. She was shocked that she saw her customer from earlier today standing and watching a man get carried out to a vehicle that would soon be heading to the nearest hospital. She quickly pushed the slightly disturbing scene out of her head as she pulled into the garage of her apartment building and busied herself with looking for her apartment keys in the bottomless pit that was her purse.

Addison walked into her abode a few minutes later and set her purse, keys, and phone down before heading to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. Unscrewing the cap to the water and taking a gulp, she made her way over to her couch and unceremoniously threw herself down on the furniture. She grabbed the remote that was next to her and turned on the television, seeing what the news had to offer her.

 _"A shooting in downtown residential D.C. leaves many people feeling panicked in their own homes. Stay tuned for more coverage after the break,"_ the female news reporter said as clips ran across the screen before cutting to a commercial. Addison quickly recognized the clips as the scene that she drove by on her way home from the store. This grabbed her attention immediately.

Before the news came back on, her phone started buzzing. She quickly made her way to the device and accepted the call once she saw who was calling her.

"Hija, _are you okay?"_ the worried voice of her mother flooded through the phone. _"I saw what happened on the news and I know that's how you drive home everyday."_

"I'm fine _mamá_ ," Addison said as she moved back to the couch to watch the news that was now muted. "I drove past the scene on the way home. I didn't know it was a shooting."

 _"The world is getting to be a scary place,"_ her mother fretted. " _I don't like you living alone in that city. Why couldn't you have accepted Sam's offer of staying with him when he asked?"_

"I'm more than capable of living on my own. I've been doing it for more than three years now," she huffed.

 _"I know, I know. I just get worried about you, Addie."_ At those words, Addison's eyes flickered shut and she felt a bit homesick. Hearing her mother's Puerto Rican accent wrap around her name made her miss the woman more than she would care to admit. " _I can't imagine what your father would say if he were still around. He would probably drive to Washington over night and drag you back home,"_ her mother said in the somber tone she always had when she spoke about Addison's father.

" _Mamá_ ," the daughter spoke in a hushed tone.

 _"I'm sorry,"_ the older woman apologized. _"I've just been missing him a bit more than usual these days."_

"I know," Addison responded. "I miss him, too." She took a deep breath before changing the topic. "How is everything back home?" With that, the two women lapsed into a comfortable conversation that lasted for an hour and a half. Hearing her mother's continuous yawns was the only reason the conversation didn't go on for long.

"Go to sleep _mamá_ ," Addison cooed to her mother. "I'll talk to you soon."

" _Okay. Goodnight,_ querida. _Love you._ "

"I love you, too." Hanging up the phone, Addison let out a yawn herself before heading to her bedroom to go to sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: I apologize for another author's note. I promise these won't happen twice every chapter.**

 **That was just a little introduction to get everything going. If you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to leave a review or send me a PM.**

 **Next chapter will involve more of everyone's favorite characters.**

 **Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed!**

 **\- beccatopaz**


	2. Chapter Two

**A/N: Wow. First off, thanks for the reviews. I know I only got three, but that was three more than I was expecting to get and they were so sweet and positive and just made my day. And thank you to all of the favorites and follows. I was not expecting anything to come of this story.**

 **Second of all, I just want to say how excited I am for you guys to read this chapter. It's just a little teaser of what is to come and I'm _super_ excited for you guys to see what is to come.**

 **Thanks for everything once again and I'll leave you to it.**

 **If you find any mistakes please let me know. (:**

 **Disclaimer: Refer to the first chapter.**

* * *

"You know, this coffee wouldn't taste like toilet water if you actually bought the good K-Cups," Addison's dark skinned friend said to her after pulling away from his beverage with a wrinkled nose.

Two days had passed since the shooting near Addison's apartment and she had been staying at Sam's house every evening since. She would drive herself home at night and sleep in her apartment, but she didn't feel quite safe again. Her mother might also have had an influence over her decision to stay at her friend's house more often. _That woman can worry with the strength of one thousand mothers,_ Addison thought to herself.

"And maybe I would if I had the money to, Wilson," the younger one quipped back.

"You aren't even broke," he scoffed. "Just cheap."

"Well, excuse me for wanting to save money."

Sam withheld the sigh he wanted to admit. He turned around to his sink and quickly poured the diluted coffee that Addison had brought from her apartment. Without much thought, the ex-solider set his coffee cup in the sink that was littered with his other dirty dishes and reached in his cabinet to pull out a clean cup.

"Stop," Addison demanded, making Sam halt in his movement. "Before you pour orange juice into your glass, you better clean up that sink, Sam Wilson. It's disgusting. Those dishes have been in there since Monday and it's Thursday."

"Yes, ma'am," he said in what the brunette would call his "army voice".

"Answer me honestly. Why are men so messy?"

"That is a vicious stereotype," Sam said, defending his masculinity. "Not all men are messy."

"Oh, yeah?" Addison goaded. "Where do you think I got the stereotype from? My dad was messy. William always left our bathroom a disaster. You never pick up your plates or clothes. The boys from my college dorm always had left over pizza sitting around and basically invited bugs in. And don't even get me started on —" Sam cut her off before she could continue.

"Okay, so you were exposed to messy males. But we aren't all like that. Steve probably isn't," Sam casually slipped the Avenger into the conversation.

"Of course not," the woman said in mock confidence. "Captain America? Messy? The two don't go together. And of course you would know that, given that you are best buds and all."

Sam rolled his eyes and started cleaning the dishes in his sink. Addison loved to be sarcastic; it was like a second nature to her. If ever a day went by where he didn't hear one of her witty comments, he would assume that she had been possessed by aliens. Two years ago, the former pararescuer would have thought that to be completely impossible. But, after seeing what happened in New York with the aliens - or the Chitauri, as Captain called them - Sam wouldn't be surprised if unicorns were actual creatures.

As much as his former best friend's kid sister denied that Sam knew the world's first superhero, he himself knew the truth and couldn't wait for the day that she would be proven wrong. It wasn't that Addison was a sore loser — no, she took it in stride and acknowledged the error in her way. It was just funny to watch her face become an angry shade of red and scrunch her nose up in irritation. What was even better was when Addison would prove someone wrong, as much as it pained Sam to admit it. She took on this momentarily authoritative bravado and looked so sure of herself, which didn't happen a lot. Even before her brother had passed, Addison was never the dominant one or the confident one. She always blended into the scene and never caused questions to be thrown her way. She didn't have a huge friend group in high school and had even passed on going to her prom night to hang out with William, Riley, and Sam. At first Sam had somewhat pitted the girl, but after seeing that she was more comfortable with those she was closest to, the man came to understand that Addison was happiest this way.

So when moments came around where Addison showed a shred of confidence, Sam mentally stored them away for later.

After finally finishing the dishes, the VA worker found a glass of orange juice sitting on the island. He must have gotten so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice Addison moving around. When Sam turned to look at her, she was walking out of the kitchen, heading in the direction of the bathroom.

The second that the glass of orange juice touched his lips, there was a knock on his back door. Since the blinds were open, he had a clear view of who was standing on his back porch. He quickly sat the glass down on his counter and walked over to the sliding glass windows.

Meanwhile in the bathroom, Addison was in the middle of drying her hands when her phone rang. After her hands were mostly dry, she rapidly pulled her phone out of her pocket to see who was calling her.

 _Beth Milgram._

"Beth, is what's going on?" Addison asked her store manager. Since she wasn't supposed to go in today, the store owner had opted for her usual attire — old yoga pants with holes by the ankles and a ratty looking t-shirt that had definitely seen better days. Her hair was piled up on top of her head in what she considered to be a rat's nest but others called a bun. Addison sent out a silent plea that she wouldn't be needed in the store today because she didn't want to have to go back to her apartment to change.

 _"You know the order for Carter?"_ the manger asked her boss. _"Well, the company sent a large instead of a medium sized arrangement."_

"Oh, my God," Addison groaned into the phone. "Did you try and call them back?"

 _"I tried and they kept getting mixed up,"_ Beth huffed. " _You need to come in and talk to them. I can take care of everything in the front. I know today is your day off and you're in your 'comfortable clothes', or whatever you call them."_ She knew her boss like the back of her hand and Addison couldn't tell if she was more irritated that she had to go into work or that she was so predictable to her employee that Beth was able to describe what she was wearing.

"Fine. I'll be there in half an hour."

With that, Addison hung up the phone. _Damn straight, I'm not changing,_ she bit back in her mind. She threw the bathroom door open and let out an exaggerated huff. The brunette walked into the kitchen without paying attention to her surroundings and slammed her phone down on the table before placing a hand on her hair. "Sam, I have to go in to the store. Isn't this just fantastic? This was _supposed_ to be my day off and we were _supposed_ to —"

Addison cut herself off of her rampage when she saw who was standing in her best friend's kitchen, covered in what looked to be soot.

Captain America.

Along with the Black Widow.

Her face instantly started burning and she could tell that it was due to the blood rushing to the surface. A feeling she could only describe as defeat rushed through her for a second as her nose twitched in irritation. Sam hadn't lied and she had discredited his honesty.

Her burning cheeks were easily mistaken for embarrassment in the eyes of Captain America and the Black Widow. The two were used to it. The over-six-foot, well built, blonde, blue eyed, All American soldier more so than the miniature, red haired, fair skinned, and green eyed assassin. After all, New York had given the Avengers more attention than they had ever wished to receive. When people met them or saw them, they quickly became flustered and fumbled over their words and movements.

"I told you I wasn't bluffing," Sam muttered to Addison who quickly sent him a warning in the form of a glare.

The twenty-five year old turned back to the two super heroes in front of her and allowed herself to have a small moment of weakness that she hid behind a polite smile.

"Captain America," she started. "It's such an honor to meet you."

"Ma'am," the soldier responded with ease and a nod of his head. _Ever the gentleman,_ she thought to herself. _Oh, what Mamá would say if she could see me now._ Addison allowed herself a moment to look him over. He stood at six feet, if not taller, and dwarfed everyone in the room. His bright green eyes stood out even more so than they should have with the soot covering his face and his clothes. She never questioned why he and his companion were covered in the dark substance. Probably some super hero business needed to be done. Her eyes flickered to his biceps that were straining the fabric of the jacket he was wearing and Addison felt herself swoon a little bit inside. It was no secret that the well built, blonde haired, soldier was unbelievably handsome. If Addison was ever to be attracted to the All American type, she would definitely be fawning over Captain America.

She turned her gaze over to the miniature assassin standing next to the super soldier. The Black Widow looked so poised and graceful just standing, Addison could only imagine what she looked like when she jumped around and did whatever assassins do. The red haired woman had fair skin and green eyes to match the Captain's. Her presence was very large for such a tiny woman, however. "It's an honor to meet you as well, Miss Widow," Addison said. The second the name escaped her lips, she cringed.

 _Miss Widow? Seriously? Out of all the names you could call her…_ her inner monologue huffed.

The assassin's mouth twitched up in an almost smile before she nodded her head. Addison looked between the two Avengers once more before she turned to Sam and gave him a strained smile. Her mind was still trying to process that she was in the presence of two of the people who had stopped Aliens from invading Midtown Manhattan and possibly the world.

"I'm going to go to the shop now," she told her friend. "I'll talk to you after work."

She slowly backed away from the two unexpected visitors and Sam before she turned on her heel and quickly grabbed her purse by the front door and exited the home.

"Miss Widow?" she groaned to herself.

She was never going to let herself live that one down.

* * *

"Okay, but, I don't understand why your company sent a large size arrangement when it clearly said in the order that it was supposed to be a _medium_ ," Addison seethed into the phone. She was currently holed up in the office in the back of the store with the door shut so potential customers didn't have to hear the owner yelling into a phone about a screwed up order or see her dressed in clothes that were far too casual to be running a business.

 _"I'm sorry, ma'am. I don't know where the wires got crossed but I assure you,"_ the man on the other end of the line started. _"We are working on another arrangement for you right now in the correct size."_

"Alright, that's fine. When will it be ready to be delivered to the store?"

 _"Four days."_

"Four days?"

 _"Yes, ma'am."_

"But it took you two days to make the large sized one," Addison nearly screamed. Her patience was wearing thin after a couple hours of yelling into the phone. She had been pushed around from person to person at the company that she had ordered the flowers from and she finally was able to talk with the man in charge. She let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fine. Just please make sure it's the right size and have it here in four days or else I'm going to have to find another company to order flowers from." Addison didn't give the man a chance to respond before she hung up the phone.

Sitting at her desk, she gave herself a minute to cool off before she had to call Sharon Carter and inform her that her arrangement of flowers was going to be delayed by four days at the very least. She twirled stray hairs that had fallen from her "bun" around the tips of her fingers before she pushed her chair back and picked up her desk phone again.

She dialed the client's number and spoke to her in an apologetic tone. Thankfully, Sharon was a sensible woman and told Addison that it would be no problem to her to have to come in four days to pick the flowers up.

Once she got off the phone with Sharon, Addison let herself finally think back to meeting two of her favorite Avengers earlier that day. Her palms started to sweat as she thought back to what she had called the Black Widow and she cringed again. Addison refused to entertain the thoughts about what she could have called the Asgardian Prince or the big green guy if she had met them.

Deciding to shoot Sam a text and tell him that she wanted to shoot herself in the foot the more _"Miss Widow"_ replayed in her head, she searched around for her phone. When she couldn't find it in her purse or any of her desk drawers, Addison came to a realization.

She left her phone on the kitchen table when she left Sam's house.

The petite brunette wanted to slam her head against the desk. She always forgot her phone and it was a miracle that someone hadn't yet stolen her phone. But then again, why would anyone want that piece of junk? It was an older iPhone model and all that was on her phone was a couple pictures of her family — that she had thankfully backed up to her computer — and her work calendar.

Making sure that she had everything, Addison grabbed her purse and told Beth she was leaving before she tore out of the back entrance and got into her car. She didn't waste anytime as she sped to Sam's house. If Addison was the gambling type, she would bet all her money that she could drive to his house with her eyes closed. But she wasn't and she didn't really want to test that theory in broad daylight.

When she pulled into Sam's driveway, she left her purse in the car and locked it before running to the front door. The woman fumbled with the key a couple times before she finally was able to slip it into the deadbolt and let herself into the house. Not bothering to lock the door since she was just going to leave after retrieving her device, Addison headed for the kitchen. She grabbed her phone the second she was in reach of it and immediately checked her notifications.

Two texts from her mother and ten missed calls from an unknown number.

Addison furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She never got calls from unknown numbers, so why all of a sudden did she get ten in one day? As she was unlocking her phone, she heard the sound of Sam's television playing in his living room. With a roll of her hazel eyes, she walked over to the talking screen to turn it off. Just as she reached the remote, the words coming from the screen caught her attention.

 _"Captain America, the Black Widow, and third accomplice are arrested in the middle of a D.C. street."_

She blanched when she heard the tag line and almost lost her footing.

Captain America? Arrested? With the Black Widow? And a third accomplice?

It didn't take a genius to figure out who the third party was. Her best friend was just talking with the two super heroes — were they heroes if they got arrested? — this morning. Not even twelve hours later the three of them are being arrested.

What did they do to get arrested?

Before Addison could let the endless questions bounce around in her mind, she was distracted by the sound of the front door being thrown open. Remote still in hand, Addison slowly walked back to the kitchen that would give her a clear line of sight to the front door. When she stepped foot in the kitchen, she was immediately greeted with the sight of men dressed in all black and each holding guns all headed straight towards her.

It was like time sped up.

Voices and sounds became mute and Addison wasn't able to understand what was going on.

 _Why were men with guns storming Sam's house?_

 _Why were the men's mouths moving but no sound was coming out of them?_

Feeling a large, calloused hand wrap around her elbow, Addison snapped back into her right state of mind and only one thought was present.

 _Fight._

Addison ripped her arm away from her assailant's grasp and pushed her weight to one side, making the man trip over his feet as he went to lunge for her. She propelled herself away from the man on the floor and started to head for the back door to try and make an escape but she felt that same hand wrap around her ankle and pull her back. Her foot slipped from under her, making her fall towards the floor, twisting her body, trying to catch something to keep her up.

Luck, as it would always seem, wasn't on her side.

As she fell to the floor, Addison's temple connected with the marble counter and a sickening _crack_ could be heard. Pain exploded in the right side of her head and her vision instantly blurred. The corners of her sight were black and she was seeing white spots as she continued to fall to the ground. A warm liquid started to gush down her face from her hairline. Before she could register that she was bleeding, the back of her head came in contact with the hard wood floors of Sam's kitchen and for the second time, a grotesque sound echoed through the kitchen along with the shouts of men. Searing pain reared its ugly head once more and Addison couldn't see anymore.

Her vision was completely black.

Though she couldn't see, she still pushed herself up from the floor only to be pushed back down roughly by a set of hands.

Nothing prepared her for what happened next.

Without warning, Addison felt something hard and compact hit her square in the nose and her left cheek bone.

The pain from that blow to the face was enough to knock her out cold.

The men who were all completely conscious scanned the rest of the house quickly before taking the limp form of the woman found in the kitchen to the front door. Two of them loaded her crumpled form into the back of a van before they all piled in the same vehicle and left the house behind, heading towards downtown Washington D.C.


	3. Chapter Three

**A/N: Hey, guys! I'm so sorry that it's been a while since I updated. Life has just been super busy these last two-to-three weeks and I didn't get a lot of time to sit down and write.**

 **Make sure you check out the author's note at the bottom.**

 **Thanks and enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: Refer to first chapter.**

* * *

Blinding lights greeted Addison as she slowly came to consciousness. Her brain was screaming at her to close her eyes to shield against the abrasive light. She listened to herself and closed her eyes quickly after opening them. While her eyes were closed, Addison finally felt the pounding beneath her skull. It felt like there were fists on the inside of her head just pounding against the protective barrier. If she didn't know any better, she would say that her head would split in half any second from all the pain.

Deciding to open her eyes again, Addison fluttered her eyelids open and slowly let herself get used to the light. Everything was still blurry but she could make out a little more than the obnoxious lights she was first greeted with. There were about five silhouettes in front of her, that much she could make out. What she couldn't see, was that three of the five silhouettes had automatic riffles in their hands, ready to use incase she didn't cooperate. The other two were poised in front of her, ready to question her the second she fully grasped the ropes that would bring her back to reality.

Her vision slowly returned to her and Addison jumped when she could see the weapons and the five men in front of her. Addison's heart beat sped up and she could feel her body start to go into autopilot. She immediately went to jump out of the chair and try to get as far away from them as possible. However, her arms and ankles were restrained to the chair. The skin beneath the ropes on her hands felt as if it was being torn every time she tugged on the ropes. After a few more seconds, she gave up her futile attempts to free herself.

"Now that we've established that you aren't going anywhere, you are going to answer a few questions," the man directly in front of her said. She quickly noticed that every detail of about him was perfectly polished from his three piece suit, to his glinting loafers, to the top of his head where there wasn't a hair out of place. His face had wrinkles outlining his mouth and eyes, suggesting he was much older than Addison. Her eyes flickered over to the only other person in front of her without a weapon in their hand.

He was much younger than the man in front of him and looked just a little older than the hostage herself. He had very sharp facial features. His nose and jawline made his face look like a box and she couldn't help but think that he looked a little rougher than most men should look at his age. His dark hair and dark eyes made him seem more intimidating.

"Are you aware of what happened earlier today?" the elder man asked Addison. His eyes locked on hers and made her feel uncomfortable. She squirmed in her seat, unable to keep still under his intense gaze.

She shook her head in response. Addison didn't trust her voice at the moment. And it wasn't like she was lying. The florist honestly couldn't remember what happened this afternoon. All she could recall from her day was heading to Sam's house for a morning coffee. The rest was a blur.

The movement of shaking her head made her vision spin and her headache worsen. She cringed and went to bring her hands up to her head but they were once again met with the harsh rope. That particular jerk was enough to tear the skin on her wrists and allow a small stream of warm liquid to start flowing down her hand. Addison let out a sob at the searing pain and tried to twist her wrist so the rope wouldn't be stationed in her wound. However, any movement made the rope dig in deeper into her flesh. With tears streaming from her eyes, Addison stopped her movements.

"Captain America and a few of his fugitive friends were arrested for causing mayhem in the middle of the street," the sharply dressed male said. "Now," he pushed his suit jacket back as he placed both of his hands on his hips. "Ex-pararescuer Samuel Wilson was arrested along with the Captain."

"What?" Addison choked out. What was Sam doing with Captain America? Why were they both arrested? Sam would never do anything outside of the law. The former soldier knew better than to do something so stupid. And Captain America being arrested didn't sit well with Addison. Her brother had idolized him his entire life. There was no way that William's hero would go against everything he stood for.

"We inspected Wilson's home after they were arrested and imagine the surprise of my men when they saw a woman in his house who wasn't supposed to be there," the man all but spat out. "What were you doing in Wilson's house, Miss Roberts?"

"How do you know my name?" Addison asked. She had never seen this man before in her life.

"The same way I know that your brother was killed in action. The same way I know that you and your mother are the only surviving members of the the Roberts family. The same way I know that you own your mother's flower shop and that you live in an apartment two minutes away from where the murder occurred two days ago."

Hearing all this information being spewed from his mouth, Addison couldn't help but feel her heart clench in fear and her stomach tie in knots.

"I'm going to ask you one more time, and one more time only," the man who had been speaking said as he crouched down so that he was eye level with her. "What were you doing in Wilson's house?"

She wracked her brain for an answer but came up short. She couldn't remember anything from earlier. More tears streaked down her cheeks as she became defeated. "I don't know. I can't remember," she said in her hoarse voice.

The younger man of the two without weapons clenched his jaw and shook his head. Addison knew that meant she was done for. As the older man went to open his mouth, he was cut off by another man running into the room. He had a bald head and wore a uniform much like the men standing in front of Addison with guns in their hands. "Sir, the asset has regressed."

The elderly man let out a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. He muttered a few words under his breath and shook his head. After a moment, he straightened his posture and glared down at Addison as if she was the root of all of his problems.

"Put her in a room, I'm not done questioning her," he barked at the men behind him. Without waiting for anyone to acknowledge what he said, the man turned on his heel and walked further down the room until he walked past the iron gate that looked like it led into a vault. All of the men but one with a gun followed him into the vault as well as the younger man who didn't have a weapon.

A valut.

 _Am I in a bank?_ Addison asked herself.

Before she could ask someone and hopefully get an answer, another man appeared out of nowhere and he looked similar to the younger man from earlier. This one had longer hair that was slicked back and scruff around his jaw. His appearance was a little messier than the other men that she had seen when she woke up. He had no emotion on his face whatsoever, making him more intimidating to Addison.

The man pulled a cloth out from his back pocket and twisted it around before walking behind Addison. She was confused at first but in the next moment, the cloth came down in front of her mouth and the man forced her to bite down on it before tying a knot in the material to make it stay on her head. Addison didn't even bother to try and fight anymore, there was nothing she could do. She felt two hands grab her chair and start to drag it away. She couldn't see where she was being taken since she was being dragged backwards.

Right when she was about to be dragged into another room, she heard the sound of a screaming man and what appeared to be electrical currents. The sound of his screams was deafening and Addison could feel the pain that he was in. Never in her life had she heard a sound that caused her to feel so heartbroken and sick all in the same breath. His screams continued as she was pulled out of the room and shoved into another room by the man who had gagged her.

He rounded the chair and headed out of the room without looking back at her. When he shut the door, Addison could still hear the screams of the man in the vault. She hadn't seen him but his voice was enough to haunt her. The sound of his cries of pain echoed in her head as well as the whole building.

The room that Addison was locked in had no windows and no lights. She was left alone in the dark with only a sliver of light coming in from the bottom of the door. Addison closed her eyes and tried to cancel out all that was going on around her. She tried to focus on her memories to distract her from what was going on.

When she focused hard enough, she could see her mother standing in front of her with her arms open. Addison could see the smile on her mother's wary face and instantly felt her heart stop beating briefly.

Would she ever see her mother again? Would she ever get to hear her voice? Feel her arms around her?

And what about Sam? Was he okay? Would she ever find out why he had gotten arrested with Captain America of all people?

While Addison sat in her chair with questions spinning around her head, she felt a sudden wave of fatigue hit her and she did her best to fight off the feeling but her body wasn't letting her win. Without warning, Addison's body shut down and the young woman fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

Pacing around the underground hide out, Sam Wilson couldn't help but feel unease and adrenaline pump through his body. His hands were clenching and unclenching beside him and he couldn't stop shaking his head, trying to chase away the negative thoughts.

 _Why was everyone hunting Captain America?_

 _What happened that was so bad that the Captain had to go against the government program that had been responsible for turning him into the super soldier he currently was?_

 _What would the world think of the three of them after they saw it on television?_

 _What would Addison think of Sam?_

At the thought of Addison, Sam felt the urge to swing his fist at something. He contained the urge and fixated on his pacing.

His best friend had left her phone at his house as she usually did and there was no doubt in his mind that she would go back to his house to retrieve the device. Sam wasn't a naïve man. He knew the agency called HYDRA that Steve talked about earlier would go back to his house and look for anything that could lead them to the Captain and Sam's involvement with the world's first avenger. The only thing that Sam was unsure of was if Addison would be caught in the crossfire.

 _Would she be there when HYDRA came knocking down his front door?_

 _Would se get there after and see his house totally destroyed?_

 _Or would she even go back to his house after seeing what happened on the news?_

After seeing his new friend in distress, Steve Rogers had sent out a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to go and see if Addison was safe and what had happened to Sam's house. The super soldier sat in a seat next to Natasha as they watched Sam pace back and forth. It was making the both of them antsy but they couldn't find it in themselves to tell him to stop given everything that they had been through that day.

Steve's mind was going a million miles per hour.

 _Zola wasn't dead; he was just living inside a computer. Or was, until the dirty S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had blown the bunker to pieces._

 _The German scientist had an algorithm that could predict who would be threats to HYDRA and who needed to be eliminated._

 _HYDRA was going to kill millions of people that they deemed threats in less than twenty-four hours._

 _The metal armed man who had killed Nick Fury had shown himself and fought with Steve._

 _The metal armed man was Bucky._

 _Bucky was still alive._

 _But Bucky didn't know that he was Bucky, much less that Steve was his best friend._

 _Bucky worked for HYDRA._

 _Nick Fury was still alive._

If that wasn't enough, Steve had just endangered the life of Sam's closest friend who was innocent and was probably never on HYDRA's radar.

Until now.

Letting out an exhale of breath, the super soldier felt something he hadn't felt in a long time - hopeless. The feeling didn't last long and it was fleeting, but it didn't settle well with Steve that he felt so low.

Before he could stew over anymore of his thoughts, the sound of urgent footsteps echoed through the underground compound. The three fugitives looked up at the person whose footfalls were disrupting the silence.

It was the agent that Steve had sent on Sam's behalf. Steve stood up from his chair and gave his full attention to the man in front of him.

"The car that belonged to Miss Roberts," the man started, motioning towards Sam, "was in front of the house. Her purse was still in the vehicle. Your house was broken into by HYDRA and they took your laptop and your phone and I assume Miss Roberts's phone since I couldn't find it. There were signs of a struggle and a small pool of blood on the floor of the kitchen. I took a sample so we can match who it came from," he finished.

Sam could feel his chest deflate and a heavy weight settle on it. His hands came up to his head and he held it while squeezing his eyes shut and muttering to himself.

Steve felt remorse creep up his throat and start to suffocate him. He never wanted this to happen. He never wanted to endanger innocent lives. He was a soldier. He was supposed to protect the innocent and his country. Why was it that he kept failing?

He felt a hand come up and squeeze his shoulder. The Avenger's eyes cast down to see Natasha give him a small smile that was meant to tell him that it wasn't his fault. But how could it not be his fault? Sam's life was getting back to normal before he met Steve. His friend, Addison, was also living a normal life before today.

"We should be able to identify the blood in a couple minutes," the agent said before bowing his head and moving towards a corner of the compound where all the technological equipment was.

Sam Wilson was quick to follow the agent. He needed to know as soon as possible whose blood was spilt in his house. If it was Addison's blood, he didn't know what he would do. About a week before her brother, William, had died, he had called Sam and made him promise to watch and take care of his baby sister if anything ever happened to him. What kind of a best friend would he be if he broke the last promise he ever made to his best friend? And this was Addison, Sam's best friend, too. He felt a type of responsibility for her that most best friends didn't feel for one another. _That's what happens when you go to hell and back with each other_ , his subconscious yelled at him.

A minute later, Sam could feel Steve standing behind him, anxious to see the results as well.

"Okay, forensics can confirm that the blood found belongs to…" the agent trailed off before clicking a few buttons to pull up the ID match on the screen.

A picture of a woman with soft hazel eyes, olive skin, and dark hair appeared on the computer screen. The smile on her face punched Sam right in the gut and he felt the oxygen leave his lungs in a rush.

"Addison Roberts."

* * *

The rattling of the door knob brought Addison back to consciousness. Her head snapped up and she looked around the room that she was in. Still, there were no lights and she couldn't see anything. When the door to the room was thrown open, the light entering the room blinded Addison and she hissed around the cloth gag that was in her mouth. Her eyes refused to focus and all she could make out was the silhouette of a man standing in front of her before the lights in the room suddenly turned on, blinding her further. Addison rapidly blinked her eyes in attempt to get them to adjust to the light and once she regained her sight, she could see that the man in front of her was probably four inches taller than she would have been if she was standing. He was meek looking and didn't seem threatening.

All those assumptions were wiped from her mind when he drew a gun out of the holster on his hip and pointed it towards Addison's head. The sight of a gun aimed at her head sent Addison into hysterics.

"No, no, no, no, no, please," she begged around the gag while tears streamed down her face. " _Please!_ I'm begging you. Please don't kill me! Please, please, please." Sobs interrupted her pleas for her life. Her chest was convulsing and she couldn't take a large enough breath.

 _Click._

The safety of the man's gun was off and now his finger was on the trigger.

"Oh, my God! _Please!_ " Her scream came out muffled as her heart hammered in her chest. "I don't want to die. Please. You don't have to do this!"

 _Bang._

Addison let out a scream at the sound of the gun being fired and paid attention to see where she had been shot. It obviously wasn't the head because she was still alive. After a moment, she realized she wasn't shot when she looked up and saw the body of the man in front of her bore a hole through his head. His limp body fell to the floor and Addison let out another scream mixed with a sob. She brought her eyes up to the person standing in the door way and she about fainted when she saw a man with a metal arm pointing a gun at the dead body on the floor. The man in front of her, unlike the one before was absolutely threatening.

He had a metal arm, for Christ's sake.

He was cradling his right arm that appeared to be flesh to his chest as if he had wounded it. He stood tall in the door way and his presence alone demanded attention and fear. Addison looked at his face next and saw many cuts and scrapes along his face. Some of them were still bleeding while others had stopped and the blood around the cuts had dried. His shoulder length hair looked like it had just been washed as there were a few water droplets cascading down the strands. The roots of his hair stuck to his head and made him look haggard. The man had a strong jaw that was clenched and had a dusting of scruff. The last thing that Addison noticed were his eyes. They were a light, blue-gray color. But that wasn't what stood out to Addison the most. His eyes looked confused and lost.

Addison's eyes returned to the gun that was still held out in front of him and she couldn't bring herself to voice her fear with a scream or a sob. She was simply frozen.

Was he going to kill her? Or was he going to help her get free?

She received her answer a moment later when he dropped the gun and moved towards her, pulling a knife out of a pocket in his pants. Addison let out a whimper when he crouched in front of her and brought the knife up to her face. She turned away, not wanting to watch the man kill. her. She could feel the knife brush past a few strands of her hair before she heard it start to cut something. A second later, the gag around her mouth fell to the floor and she took in a shaky breath.

Without waiting for her to acknowledge him, the man cut the ropes around her hands before he stood up and backed away from her slowly.

Addison turned to him and met his gaze as he backed out of the room. He didn't mutter a single word before he disappeared from sight.

Without thinking, Addison leaned down to untie the ropes holding her ankles to the chair. Once she was free of the restraints, she stood up from the chair. Her legs were weak after being held down in a chair for God knows how long. She caught herself on the doorway before she could fall to the ground. Addison gave herself a second to rest her legs while she looked through the door way of the room she was held in. She looked around and couldn't see the man that had helped to free her but she didn't want to take her chances that he would come back and try to kill her. She pushed herself out of the room and down the opposite end of the hallway that led to the vault. When she saw the door that led to the street outside, Addison gave a small groan and ran towards the doors on her tired legs.

When she pushed the door to the building open, she knew immediately where she was. The bank behind her had been closed down some time ago for renovations but never actually had any work done and eventually shut down. The street signs told her she was about twenty blocks away from her house.

Not wanting to be there any longer, Addison ran in the direction of her apartment, only stopping to dodge cars that she ran in front of. She didn't care if she looked like a mad woman running the streets of D.C. in what she assumed was a disastrous appearance. All that mattered was getting home and finding Sam.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, so we all know who we just met, right? Bucky! Yay! He's finally in the story.**

 **Just a few things before I leave you to it:**

 **\- I feel that it's not out of character for Bucky to save Addison once he came back to the bank. Once he started remembering, he saved Steve in the water because he didn't want to see another person die at his hands. And at the time, I believe Steve was just another person to Bucky but he knew that Steve used to be something more to him. So, likewise, I feel that he wouldn't want another person to die if he could stop it. One less thing to add on to his guilt.**

 **\- Steve being hopeless for a brief moment really captured his character because, to me, I feel that he carries the weight of everyone on his shoulders. But he pushed through and brought Bucky back unknowingly and saved Addison in turn. Yay!**

 **\- If you were confused as to why Bucky went back to the bank; it will be revealed in the future.**

 **Alright, that's it. Thanks for reading and I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. It would be much appreciated if you reviewed, followed, and/or favorited this story.**


	4. Chapter Four

After racing up the seven flights of stairs and miraculously not bumping into any of her neighbors, Addison literally dragged herself to the end of the hallway, past the door to her apartment. She could feel her adrenaline fading away. _Just a little longer,_ she told herself, _you just have to hold on a little longer._ When she reached the end of the hallway, she crouched down to the ground and lifted up one of the flower pots before the door that led up to the roof of the apartment building. She quickly snatched the spare key to her apartment and turned back to her apartment. Addison jammed the key into the lock and twisted it until she heard the _click,_ signaling that the door was now unlocked.

The door was shoved open as she collapsed in her apartment. Her adrenaline was officially gone. Her muscles were shaking and she couldn't see straight. She kicked the door closed with her foot and pulled herself along the floor until she was by the kitchen counter where her home phone resided. Grabbing the cord to the phone, she yanked it down towards her, dodging the phone as it fell to the floor. Once the phone was in her hand, she brought it close to her face, praying for her vision to stay semi-clear so she could dial the number. But, luck wasn't on her side.

Addison dialed what she thought was Sam's number two times and ended up calling an irritated woman named Kelly and a sales representative from some insurance company. On her third time, the voice of Sam Wilson rang through the speaker.

 _"Hello?"_ he spoke quickly. _"Addison?"_

Letting out a sob, Addison nodded her head. "Sam. Oh, my God, Sam."

 _"Addison, where have you been? Are you alright? What happened?"_

Addison's head was swimming and she couldn't formulate answers to any of his questions. All she could focus on was the anxiety and exhaustion flooding her system. "Sam, I need you," she whimpered. "I need you. _Please._ "

 _"What's going on? Are you hurt?"_ Sam asked overtop of her pleads.

"Sam!" Addison shouted. "I need you to come over. I need you." Her voice reflected the mental state she was in - confused and on the verge of feeling shattered. The last time she had said "I need you" to Sam Wilson, she was at her lowest point. When Sam finally came around so see her, she had been on the verge of doing something very impulsive.

 _"Okay,"_ he relented quickly and with understanding in his voice. _"Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can. Don't open the door for anyone. Alright?"_

Normally, she would have asked a million and two questions about why he was so paranoid but after just escaping from an abduction, Addison didn't hesitate to agree.

She hung up the phone and army crawled with what was left of her energy to the plush carpet in her living room. There was no way she was going to get up on the couch when she couldn't even move the muscles in her legs. Once she reached the carpet, Addison curled up into a ball and held herself, shaking from the trauma.

She still couldn't remember what had happened leading up to her kidnapping, but she knew that she had been taken at some point the day before.

She had been restrained to a chair and shredded the skin around her wrists after trying to escape.

She had been held at gun point.

She thought she was shot when she heard the gun fire, but the meek man in front of her had been the one to take the bullet.

She was set free by the man who shot the other man who was sent to kill her.

And said man had a metal arm.

The more she thought about it, the more the image of the man with the metal arm was burned into her mind. She couldn't forget the gun in his hand that had killed the man before her. Addison couldn't forget his eyes either. The image of them sent shivers down her spine. How could someone so _lethal_ look so lost and confused after he just killed someone?

Tears came to her eyes as she thought about what happened. _Why me?_ The thought circled around her head endlessly. Holding her legs closer to her body, Addison gave into the emotional whirlwind that she had been pushing away. She let tears fall rapidly down her cheeks, snot run from her nose, and a bit of drool slip from her mouth. She couldn't stop herself once she had started. The grief she felt for herself was beyond comprehension at that moment. For the second time in what she assumed was less than twenty-four hours, Addison fell unconscious.

* * *

Sam's nerves were frayed. After receiving a phone call from Addison, who Sam knew was abducted by HYDRA, and hearing her say the same words that she had told him years ago before almost leaving him forever, he was a time bomb waiting to explode. He needed to get out of the hospital and over to Addison's house.

But, Steve, hearing the entire conversation, ripped the IV cords in his arm out and pushed himself off of the bed. He told the ex-pararescuer that he was coming along with him. After ten minutes of arguing that Cap was too weak and needed the rest, Sam gave up after Steve told him that he felt guilty that Addison had gotten wrapped up in this mess.

Knowing better than to argue with a solider who felt guilty, Sam relented and helped sneak the super soldier out of the hospital. Which was no small feat. Sneaking a six-foot man out of a busy hospital was bad enough; sneaking an American treasure who was six-feet was something entirely different. But, they had managed to escape from the hospital and grab normal clothes for Steve all in the span of forty-five minutes. After he got rid of the hospital gown, Sam and Steve piled into a taxi and headed to Addison's apartment.

The entire time they were stuffed in the backseat of the taxi, Sam's leg was bouncing up and down, making the man next to him grow increasingly anxious. The pararescuer didn't have it in him to stop bouncing his leg. It was the only thing keeping him from combusting.

When the taxi cab finally pulled up to the curb in front of Addison's apparent building, Sam threw the car door open and launched himself out of the vehicle. Without thinking much, he threw a wad of cash at the driver and barreled into the building's entrance with the super soldier hot on his heels. He took the stairs two at a time while ignoring his calf muscles that burned in protest. The two soldiers finally made it to the seventh floor and a few steps later they were in front of Addison's door.

There was dried blood smeared around the door knob.

That was the first thing that both Sam and Steve noticed. They gave each other worried glances before Sam quickly pulled his keys out of his pants pockets and quickly tried to unlock the front door. When he didn't hear the lock move, he tested the door knob and pushed on the door only to find that it was unlocked. The thought to yell at Addison for being unsafe never occurred to him.

Instead, he pushed through the door and noticed the disarray of objects strewn about the kitchen floor that was near the front door. A split second later, Sam noticed the blood stains and followed them with his eyes until he saw Addison shaking on the carpet in the living room.

"Addison!" He dove down to her and pulled her shaking form into his arms. He saw her eyes fighting to focus. He quickly scanned the rest of her body and saw that her wrists were torn apart and deemed them the source of the blood.

"Steve, in her bathroom under the sink there is a first aid kit. Second door on the left," Sam ordered. Steve didn't hesitate to follow the commands and raced out of the room. "Addison, why didn't you call 911?" Sam asked, hoping to try to keep her conscious.

It took her a few moments, but she finally answered. "You know how I feel about hospitals," she said through shaky breaths. Steve came into the living area and knelt down next to her, opening the first aid kit and getting out the supplies he needed. "Plus," Addison added in a weak voice, "they stopped bleeding a while ago."

"I'm going to clean your wounds," Steve said after she finished talking. _Why the hell wouldn't she go to the hospital,_ Steve asked himself. He shot Sam a look and the pararescuer responded with a shake of his head, signaling that he would tell the super solider later. He took the bottle of saline water and poured it on the cloth in the first aid container. "This may hurt just a little bit."

Addison nodded her head briefly and squeezed her eyes together while biting on her bottom lip, bracing herself for the pain that was about to come. The second the rag hit her wounds, she let out a little whimper, but let Steve carry on.

Once she was cleaned up and her wrists were wrapped in gauze, Sam and Steve helped Addison to sit up on the couch. She curled in on herself and clutched her knees to her chest while the two men sat on the couch opposite of hers. Addison refused to look up at them and meet their eyes. She was feeling a little ashamed that they had seen her in a state like that and put them through the stress of caring for her in such a vulnerable state.

"Addison," Sam started in a calm and quiet voice, "what happened?"

She remained quiet for a moment before she eventually spoke up. "I went back to your house after I realized that I left my phone there. When I got my phone, I saw there were missed calls from some unknown number and I was about to see who it was but then I heard your television playing and I heard something about Captain America." She had to pause to collect herself to talk about what came next. "Then out of nowhere, these men storm in and I just - just - just. I tried to get out but they knocked me out and the next thing I know I'm in a bank. Why? Why would they come into your house and take me?" Addison asked as the tears she had been fighting back streaked down her cheeks. Her body started to shake as she remembered all that happened.

On the couch in front of her, Steve shifted awkwardly, not really knowing how to comfort the weeping woman in front of him. He knew this was probably traumatizing for her but he and Sam needed to know what HYDRA had done to her.

"Addison, it's okay," Sam said, getting up to go sit next to her. When he reached her, he stretched his arm out to wrap it around her but she flinched away from him, understandably. "They aren't here. They aren't going to hurt you."

Sam knew that he couldn't be one hundred percent sure, but he knew that he would be damned if he didn't try and stop anything or anyone from hurting her again. It took a lot out of him to see his best friend aching so much. The next time he saw anyone affiliated with HYDRA, he was going to make them pay.

"Ma'am, I know you're scared, but is there anything else you can tell us?" Captain asked softly.

"Uh, there were these two men who talked to me once I woke up," she said timidly.

"Did they say anything?"

"They told me that you both were arrested and then I asked him how he knew me when the older man said my name and then he started to say things about me that he shouldn't know. How did he know those things?" Addison mumbled the last part to herself.

"Did he say anything else, this man?" Steve pushed.

Addison shook her head head quickly. "No, but some other man came in after and said something about an asset regressing or something and then he was on edge and then this guy came and dragged me into some room with no light or anything and the next thing I remember is being face to face with this man who had a gun."

"Asset?" Sam asked as he shared a look with Steve.

"And I just started panicking because he was going to _kill me_ ," Addison continued, too wrapped up in the memories. "I begged and begged for my life, but he wasn't doing anything. I don't understand. Why would he kill me when I did nothing to him? I've never seen this man before. I just don't get it," she sobbed.

"What happened, Addie?" Sam asked. "Because here you are, not dead," he said while trying to put a lighthearted tone into the sentence to make her feel better.

"I heard the gun go off and I remember thinking I had been shot," Addison croaked out. "But then, the man in front of me just fell down because he was the one that was shot and - and - and this other man was standing behind him with a gun in his hand and he just killed him in front of me. And then I thought he was going to kill me next but he dropped the gun and freed my hands before he left," she finished.

"What did this man look like?" Sam asked her.

The second he asked that question, Addison couldn't remember what the man looked like, only that he had a metal arm.

"I don't know, I can't remember," she cried, frustrated with herself. "The only thing I can remember is that he had a metal arm."

Sam and Steve both blanched and felt their hearts stop when those words left her mouth.

"Bucky?" Steve shouted. "He let you go?"

"Who is Bucky?" Addison croaked once more, finally looking up from her fetal position and locking eyes with the super soldier.

"You said he had a metal arm right?" Steve asked, leaning forward on the couch. "There is no one else with a metal arm, but Bucky."

"Why does it matter?" Addison asked him, confused as to how this was helping.

"Because, I knew him," Steve said.

"What?" Addison inquired with confusion.

With a composed face, Steve launched into a quick story of everything to try and help her understand what was going on; how he became Captain America, how Bucky had died falling from the train, how HYDRA was still around, how they were in charge of what had happened in the Potomac (which was another story in its own), and how Bucky had been given a version of the serum Steve got and that's how he is alive today.

To put it simply, Addison was even more confused than before which resulted in more tears and frustration. Steve became frustrated with himself as well after unloading all of that on to an innocent girl's shoulders. His brain was still frazzled from all that happened less than twenty-four hours ago.

"Listen, Addie," Sam said, trying to get her to calm down. "It's all going to be fine. You're back home and that's what matters right now." She continued to cry and sniff, stressed beyond all belief. "Okay, here's what's going to happen. Are you listening to me?" Sam asked as if he was talking to a small child. When Addison nodded her head, he carried on. "I'm going to go get some things from my house and spend the night here with you just to make sure everything is okay. Then, tomorrow you are going to go to the VA and get your injuries assessed by a doctor and sign up for some therapy sessions."

"No," Addison snapped. "No therapy, Sam. No."

"Addison, we've been over this before. Therapy is perfectly normal."

"No, Sam. I - I - I just don't want - I don't. I can't," Addison stumbled, not being able to voice her distaste eloquently.

"Okay, okay," Sam conceded, seeing as she was panicking even more at the prospect of therapy. He knew why she was so against it, but he wasn't going to let her bottle this up. He would work on getting her to go to therapy.

Slowly getting up off of the couch, Sam and Steve peered down at the curled up form of a clearly broken woman. Steve felt disheartened for bringing all of this down on her. She was just a normal girl who didn't ask for any of this.

Sam felt so helpless seeing Addison like this. If William could see her now, he would rip Sam a new ass. Knowing that he couldn't do anymore to help at the moment he let out a sigh and walked over to the front door, Steve following behind him.

"I'll be back in thirty minutes," he said before the two soldiers walked out of the apartment and closed the door behind them.

As they walked down the stairs and out of the building, a tense silence settled over them. Steve took a deep breath before speaking.

"I'm so sorry this happened. It wasn't supposed to come back to her or anyone like that."

"Hey, man, it's not your fault," Sam told him. "You didn't know that HYDRA was going to come back and take her as collateral." There was a pause as Sam stuffed his hands in his pockets. "If anything, it was my fault. I should have —" He was cut off before he could finish.

"This wasn't your fault either." Steve gave his friend's shoulder a squeeze before he dropped his hand back to his side. There was silence for a moment before Sam spoke up.

"You're going to look for him, aren't you?"

"I have to. He's my best friend."

"Maybe back in the forties. But the man he was just yesterday didn't remember you and tried to kill the both of us and murdered someone in front of Addison," Sam quickly said.

Steve hung his head in defeat. "I know, but I can't not help him, Sam."

"I know," the pararescuer said as he finally hailed a cab. "You wouldn't be Steve Rogers if you did."

* * *

A/N: I'm so terribly sorry that this update is a couple months late. Life just got crazy and I had no time to sit down and write until the holiday break came around. Also, this isn't my best chapter, and I apologize for that.

Addison's behavior will be explained in a few chapters. I'm sorry if it seems like a crazy thing for someone to do - not going to the hospital - but, it will all be explained soon and you'll see why she acted that way and I can't say I blame her.

Anyways, as always, please leave a review and let me know what you think and/or favorite/follow. I'll see you next time.


	5. Chapter Five

It had been three or four days, maybe even five, since Sam started sleeping over at Addison's place. She had lost track of time as a result of the numbness brought on from watching another man get murdered in front of her. But who could really blame her? It was life altering to see someone die violently in front of you - even if they had been about to kill you themselves. She hadn't gone to work and didn't see herself going back anytime soon. She had told Beth that there was a family emergency and that she would be out for an indefinite amount of time. All she wanted to do was curl up and never leave her couch again. She thought maybe if she stayed there long enough, the couch would swallow her whole and she'd never emerge again - as illogical as that was.

"I'm about to leave. Do you need me to pick up anything after work?" Sam asked Addison while tugging his jacket on.

As usual for the past few days, Addison didn't respond verbally, just with a meager shake of her head. Sam let out a sigh and left it at that before walking out of the apartment. He needed to think of something fast to get Addison back on track. If she kept spiraling down this whole, Sam knew that the outcome wouldn't be good for anyone involved.

Addison waited for Sam to leave the apartment before she lethargically pushed herself off of the couch and headed for the bathroom. When she made it into the room, she avoided the mirror and went straight for the bath tub. She slowly stripped her clothing while the tub filled up. Addison hoped that this bath would help her mind calm down and allow her a few minutes of peace. Slipping into the scalding water, Addison ignored the pain and submerged her whole body. The burning sensation took her mind away from the vivid images of blood for a split second and nothing more. As she leaned her head back against the edge of the tub, Addison closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose, trying to fight through the image of the man with the metal arm holding a gun.

He disturbed her every thought.

His eyes.

His metal arm.

The gun in his hand.

The knife he pulled when he dropped the gun.

The man was absolutely lethal and he destroyed all sense of protection that Addison had ever known. This alone made the woman want to curl up and scream until her voice was hoarse. She hated being afraid of walking through her apartment, thinking that the metal armed man would be around any corner.

Getting out of the bathtub, Addison dried herself off and threw her clothes back on her body before walking into her kitchen. She took a seat at the bar and leaned forward on her elbows, chewing nervously on her nails which were starting to bleed from all the picking. She stared at the door and narrowed her eyes.

 _You have to get over yourself, Addison. You've been holed up in the apartment for five days now,_ she thought to herself. _You can't let Metal Man rule your life like this._

After about an hour of chewing her nails and talking to herself, Addison got up off of the bar stool and slowly walked towards the front door. She opened the drawer of the table that was placed next to the door and grabbed the pocket knife that was laying there. She shoved it into the pocket of her cardigan and shut the drawer before shoving her feet into her old sneakers. Taking one look at the front door, Addison steeled herself and opened it. Her grip on the pocket knife tightened as she stepped out of the apartment. After locking the door, Addison slowly made her way down the hallway and stairwell, eventually exiting the building. Seeing and hearing all the cars and people in front of her made her heart freeze in her chest. She felt her hands start to shake and looked around quickly to check if Metal Man was anywhere in sight. When she couldn't find him or any other possible danger, she adjusted the grip on the pocket knife and started to walk down the street towards the National Mall.

The whole way to the Mall, Addison nervously checked her surroundings and fidgeted with the knife in her hand. She was scared out of her mind and starting to regret leaving her apartment but she continued to push herself forward.

Without knowing it, Addison had walked herself straight to the National Air and Space Museum. Hanging right by the entrance was a banner announcing the Captain America exhibit inside. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she walked inside and bought an entrance ticket for the exhibit before skirting through security with a big group of tourists so she wouldn't be forced to give up her pocket knife. It was the only thing keeping her from freaking out at the moment.

Addison navigated her way into the Captain America exhibit and started to look through all the artifacts and pictures. It was all surreal to her. After meeting Steve Rogers himself, she still couldn't comprehend how he was able to live through World War II and still look the same. It was crazy to believe that a serum was responsible for keeping him alive that long.

When she got to the mural dedicated to the Howling Commandos, Addison froze in her tracks when she noticed one of the faces on the wall. It was a man who had short, dark hair, high cheek bones, scruff on his jaw, and bright eyes.

She knew his face.

That was the man.

Metal Man.

Her heart started to race in her chest and she could feel her hands start to sweat. Her hearing started to get fuzzy and her eyes started to lose focus. Being pushed abruptly by a shoulder, Addison snapped out of it and turned around quickly, about ready to pull out her knife in case someone was trying to attack her. Instead of finding the person who bumped into her, she found a tribute to Metal Man. She slowly walked forward and started to read what was engraved in the glass.

"Bucky Barnes," she muttered to herself.

After reading how he tragically died on a train accident, Addison became confused. He wasn't dead. She had seen him with her own two eyes; granted he looked different now, but, she knew it was the same person. Did he go through the same program as Captain America? He had to because he looked like he didn't age at all. So was his death just a stunt or did he actually die and come back to life? Addison didn't know what to believe anymore.

Too confused by all of the information presented to her, she walked backwards, trying to distance herself from the tribute only to back into someone with a hard chest.

Turning around to see who she had bumped into, Addison nearly let out a scream when she came face to face with Metal Man - or Bucky Barnes, as the exhibit said.

His eyes were focused on her as she started to scramble away from him. Her grip on her knife tightened significantly as she pushed her way through the crowd in the exhibit. She had to get out right now.

The second she was out of the exhibit, she bolted for the exit of the museum and kept running, not being able to stop. Addison needed to get back into her apartment where it was safe and where he couldn't find her. When she reached her apartment building, she dashed up the steps and down the hallway. Her hands shook as she unlocked the door. Once it was open, she flung herself against the door, slamming it shut and fumbling with the lock. Her heart was racing and Addison couldn't control the thoughts in her head.

She put herself in danger by letting Metal Man see her. She put herself in danger by being in public. She put herself by leaving the apartment.

Addison grabbed a handful of her hair and gave it a harsh tug. _Stupid girl, you shouldn't have left the apartment,_ she scolded herself.

The sound of a floor board creaking brought her out of her thoughts as her head snapped in the direction of the sound. She saw her bedroom window was open as the breeze from outside shifted her curtains. Her whole body tensed further knowing that she never opened the window.

Someone was in the apartment.

Metal Man was in her apartment, she was sure of it.

Before she could take another breath, a figure walked out from her bedroom and stood on the opposite side of her kitchen, staring at her. The metal from their arm shined in the kitchen lights and Addison found herself frozen in front of Metal Man. He was staring at her with eyes that looked similar to the ones she saw the day she thought she was going to die; confused and lost. His eyes didn't resemble the painting's bright orbs. His stance radiated physical power and he had the figure to back it up. His shoulders were broad and his chest looked built.

Addison tore her eyes away from Metal Man to look for a way to escape. The only way out was behind her and she didn't want to risk turning her back to him trying to open up the door. Instead, she tried to slowly turn the lock with one hand that was behind her back. However, the second the lock started to move, Metal Man took a step forward and gave her a cold look as he slowly shook his head. Addison quickly dropped her hand to her side and looked around quickly for another option.

On the kitchen counter directly in between her and the man was her home phone. Her eyes flickered back to Metal Man who was still staring at her and not moving. Clenching her fists by her side, Addison said a quick prayer before thrusting her body forward to try and grab the phone. Before her hand could even pass over the counter, Metal Man had the phone in his grip and pulled it back away from her.

She froze and watched with wide eyes as he crushed the device in his hand. The little plastic fragments fell to the floor and his heavy boot came down on top of the pieces to completely demolish all of Addison's hope.

A strangled whine made its way out of her throat as her anxiety and fear hit her like a brick wall. She had no hope of leaving or calling for help. She knew she wouldn't be able to make it to the living room to retrieve her cell with him tracking her every move.

Metal Man started to walk towards her and Addison shot backwards on the door and watched through watery eyes as he kept getting closer to her. When he was three steps away from her, she reached into her pocket and pulled the pocket knife out. With a click of a button, it was fully extended and she raised it towards Metal Man as she found her voice and called out, "Please, stop."

Contrary to what she thought would happen, Metal Man stopped in his tracks and remained still. Addison took a deep breath and adjusted her grip on the knife noticing that he had shifted his gaze from her to the weapon extended in front of them. He probably noticed her hand shaking, exposing her nerves.

"What do you want from me?" she asked him.

He remained quiet but moved his focus to her eyes.

"Are you here to kill me?" Addison questioned with a shaky voice.

Metal Man's jaw clenched but still there was no answer. She didn't know what else to ask so she just remained quiet, watching him for any signs that he would attack her.

"No," a gruff voice said after a minute or so of silence. Addison was surprised that he spoke, his voice sounding like he hadn't used it in ages. He mumbled something else under his breath but Addison couldn't make out exactly what he said.

"Then what are you doing in my apartment?"

"I remember you."

"That isn't an answer," she replied, still holding the knife up in between them.

Metal Man didn't respond with anything else, he just kept looking at her holding the knife.

"What do you want?" she asked, desperate to get him away from her. "Is it money? I can give you all the cash I have." He shook his head and a small growl erupted from the back of his throat. "Then what do you want?"

"Answers."

"Answers to what?"

"Need to remember."

"Remember what?"

He didn't answer.

"Remember what you did at the bank?" Addison questioned. He shook his head. "Remember what, then?" Metal Man looked down at himself and it dawned on Addison. The lost and confused look in his eyes all made sense. "You need to remember yourself."

He looked up at her quickly and nodded his head once.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm herself down, Addison spoke again. "Didn't you see the exhibit?"

"Not enough," he answered quickly.

"I don't know what I can do to help," she admitted in a weak voice. "Please, I won't tell anyone that you were here if you go. I can't help you."

Another growl came from Metal Man as he took a step forward. Addison raised her knife higher and watched as he came within an inch of the blade before stopping. Her heart was racing at his proximity to her and the weapon.

In the blink of an eye, he took the knife from her hand and closed it, shoving it into his jacket pocket before taking two steps back from Addison. She noticed that he seemed less tense after the knife was removed from the equation yet she felt the complete opposite.

"Please, I don't know what to do," she said. "Just Google yourself."

He furrowed his eyebrows at her and scrunched up his nose in confusion.

"Right, if you can't remember who you are then how can you know what Google is," Addison muttered to herself.

"Show me," he said.

"I don't —" she was cut off by him slamming his fist on the counter next to him. Addison jumped two feet in the air and clutched her chest.

"Show. Me." he demanded in a strong voice.

"Okay," Addison stuttered. "But, if I help you with this, you have to leave me alone."

He gave a short nod in agreement and she felt a small portion of her fear subside. She just had to simply Google his name, let him read whatever he found, and then he would be gone for good.

"I'm going to walk into the living room now to get my laptop, alright?" she asked in warning, not wanting to make a movement and have him shank her in fear that she would try and dip out on him. He didn't respond but watched her cautiously as she shuffled into the living room, grabbing her laptop off of the coffee table. She thought about grabbing her phone but she knew that he wouldn't appreciate her trying to ask the outside for help.

Addison slowly walked back into the kitchen and placed the laptop down on the bar, opening it up to Google. As she started to type into the search bar, she felt him come to stand right behind her, looking over her shoulder at the screen. She typed in "Bucky Barnes" and pressed the enter button before articles popped up on the screen. Addison scooted to the side and gestured to the laptop to which Metal Man just looked at it like it was some gadget from two hundred years into the future.

Reaching over, Addison clicked on the Wikipedia page for him and then pointed to the arrows towards the bottom of the keyboard. "Just use the down arrow to move the page when you want to read more."

Metal Man took a step up to the laptop and started to scan the page, taking in information on who he is. Addison had to fight against her urge to go to the living room and get her phone. She knew from her interactions with him that his reflexes were a lot faster than hers were.

When he was in the middle of reading the Wikipedia page, the sound of a key going into the lock on the front door broke through the silence. Without so much as a second passing, Addison felt herself being tugged to his side where the laptop was. The next thing she knew, Metal Man had his flesh hand gripping her forearm tightly and the metal arm was held in front of him with a gun in its grip.

Tears welled up in her eyes. She was so close to having him gone from her life and now she wasn't sure who was about to walk through the door. It could be Sam. It could be another intruder. It could be the people who took her the first time. If Metal Man had found her, they could find her, right?

Addison clenched her fists and tried to make herself as small as she could when the door opened.

" _Bucky_?"


End file.
